Every semester, I have students ask me questions on the first day of class. They often start out related to the class, then get to my background, and sometimes to my personality and interests (Star Trek! Star Wars! Sci-fi!!). It's fun. I try to do something similar in my online classes. Pasted below are some of the questions, and my answers.
Q: I read on your syllabus you are fascinated with the study of teaching, when did you become interested in this?
A:
I've thought about teaching since I was in high school, but I got
really interested in STUDYING teaching in graduate school at University
of Nebraska. As part of my research assistantship, I observed faculty
and classes and realized that teaching is a process that you can always
improve on. I like that teaching is always a challenge that I both
succeed and fail at every semester.
Q: What do you think is the most important and most useful thing we will learn about psychology?
A:
Wow, that's tough. Although not everything in the textbook or notes is
IMPORTANT, almost all of it is USEFUL. The thing is, the course is
about people. And each of you are a people. And each of you will work
with people. And each of you will have friendships or romantic
relationships with a people. So, I think that pretty much everything is
useful in some way or another.
But that doesn't really
answer your question. ;) So, I think that understanding what the
fundamental attribution error is, and then working to not do it, is the
most important and useful thing discussed in the class. I'll save the
description for the notes, but the attribution and the fundamental
attribution error is in chapter 10 (Social Psychology).
Q: Do you own any pets?
A: Yes, I have one cat: Piggie Piggie Poopy-Pants Wickersham Oja. I call her Piggie or Piglet.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
New Year Completion: 2014 to 2015
v My accomplishments, wins,
and breakthroughs this year were:
Ø Dating Gary.
Ø Continue as instructor, and
keep improving.
v My unmet expectations,
failures, and breakdowns this year were:
Ø Not losing weight.
Ø Not living new Gary
v I learned this year: I
could give up teaching full-time and be happy.
v What am I doing that’s
working for me?
Ø Visiting family.
Ø Dating Gary
v What am I tolerating?
Ø Grading too much.
Ø Skipping workouts, or not
working out hard enough.
v The breakthrough that I
would like to have next year is: living
near Gary, & balance grading and the rest of my life.
v The judgment, philosophy, or
belief that I’m willing to let go of to support that breakthrough is that: I
can’t accept a cut in pay.
v What I can count on myself
for is:
Ø Loving my kids
Ø Intelligence
Ø Humor
Ø Trying
Ø Trying new things
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Into The Woods
I watched the 2014/2015 released movie Into the Woods this past weekend. I've seen the live version a couple of times, but was really impressed with the singers. Especially the kids. And Meryl Streep!!! I did not know that she could sing like that! [I hope that it was really her singing, and not dubbed. I'd feel pretty let down if that were the case...]
But the reason that this movie, out of the many that I watch, gets review is not just the great singing by all of the actors. It's because the movie was surprisingly sexist for modern standards. I get that it's supposed to be in medieval times or whatever, but so was Frozen and that movie didn't kill off many of the women characters. One even died after kissing someone who wasn't her husband in Into the Woods! Talk about traditional violence against women who like sexuality! From my memory, only one man died. And he wasn't a main character. But two women who were main characters died, and one important-but-not-main character who was a woman also died.
I just don't understand why Hollywood can't see by some of the big money-making movies of the past few years that the public WANTS female characters, and not ones that die easily and quickly. Especially after kissing someone!
I guess it's good that the story shows after "happily ever after," and how what you wish for may not be what you really want. That's an important message, especially for so many Disney movies in which the one woman character only wants to marry a man (whom she probably just met, or hasn't met yet!).
Also, everyone was white. :(
So, I guess this is one of those movies in which there are a lot of strong female characters, but they still are treated more harshly than the male characters.
But the reason that this movie, out of the many that I watch, gets review is not just the great singing by all of the actors. It's because the movie was surprisingly sexist for modern standards. I get that it's supposed to be in medieval times or whatever, but so was Frozen and that movie didn't kill off many of the women characters. One even died after kissing someone who wasn't her husband in Into the Woods! Talk about traditional violence against women who like sexuality! From my memory, only one man died. And he wasn't a main character. But two women who were main characters died, and one important-but-not-main character who was a woman also died.
I just don't understand why Hollywood can't see by some of the big money-making movies of the past few years that the public WANTS female characters, and not ones that die easily and quickly. Especially after kissing someone!
I guess it's good that the story shows after "happily ever after," and how what you wish for may not be what you really want. That's an important message, especially for so many Disney movies in which the one woman character only wants to marry a man (whom she probably just met, or hasn't met yet!).
Also, everyone was white. :(
So, I guess this is one of those movies in which there are a lot of strong female characters, but they still are treated more harshly than the male characters.
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